And since Andrew Luck has been your QB, your team hasn't come within THREE TDs of the Patriots in the last FOUR meetings, including two in the playoffs. Its been like the varsity against the J.V. I realize that can be tough to swallow.

However, just based on common sense, I would think that you would put your mind to improving your team instead of this perverted obsession with the Patriots footballs. But hey, you're the genius who simply flushed away a valuable first round draft pick in exchange for Trent Richardson, the same player who not only gave you nothing during the year, but didn't even dress for the AFCCG. Nice move there Mr. Grigson. Now you're about to give a boatload of money to Andrew Luck, and you'll have no depth to support him. But you're a smart guy, I'm sure you know what you're doing (sarcasm / rolling my eyes).

But, truly, we can see the reason why you are obsessed with the Patriots, and that you are obviously frustrated over the fact that they own you. You were a scout for the Rams in 2001, who lost to the Patriots. You were a regional scout for the Eagles in 2004, who lost to the Patriots. And you were the GM for the Colts in 2013 and 2014 for all the losses to the Patriots in both the regular season and the playoffs.

Sour grapes much there Mr. Grigson?

A final word of advice to you Mr. Grigson.

Instead of being concerned with feeling the Patriots balls, you should look should in the mirror. That's where you'll find the source of your problems.

So I guess in your opinion the GM should be held responsible for what the players do off the field.What do you do with a guy who drafts, then gives a big early extension, to a fucking serial killer?Hold on while I look for all your "They have no way of knowing what he's up to in his off time"* posts from 2013.

A final word of advice to you Mr. Grigson.

Instead of being concerned with feeling the Patriots balls, you should look should in the mirror. That's where you'll find the source of your problems.

Yea. Mind your knitting. And if you find out the Patriots are cheating, again, just smile and say 'thank you', and be grateful you're even allowed on the same field as them.

* By the way, that's a lie. Straight up lie on your owners part. They had rented a house right next door to Hernandez and put up a staffer there to keep an eye on him. Bet you never heard that. Not surprised. It wouldn't have fit the Patriots as victims bullshit that Kraft was spewing at the time.Might come out at the trial though. His name's Joe Judge. He's on the list and he might be called because it appears he may have been less than truthful with authorities. Patriots employee lying. What a shock.

In the days before and after the New England Patriots won Super Bowl XLIX – their fourth trophy since Bill Belichick became the team's head coach – people came out of the woodwork to give their opinion on the most successful NFL franchise of the 21st century in the wake of what is now known as "Deflategate".

The Patriots should have been removed from the Super Bowl. Belichick should have been suspended. Tom Brady too. Team owner Robert Kraft should have fired his head coach immediately. Take away a draft pick. Heck, take away all their draft picks. The Patriots' legacy is tainted. They cheated their way to championships; they used deception and God-knows-what. New England's trophies deserve only one thing.

The asterisk.

The world and future generations have to know that the Patriots are only successful because they break rules. It is as simple as that. Just ask any non-biased sports fans (which, apparently, is everyone not rooting for Boston's franchises), they will tell you the same, because they know what happened. Patriots fans and their warped perception of reality clearly do not.

There is only one problem: we have officially entered Bizarro World.

In case you do not know this term, it is taken from DC Comics and refers to a world, where, basically speaking, Bill Belichick loves talking to the media, Ras-I Dowling is indestructible and Aaron Hernandez just won the Walter Payton Man of the Year award. In short: it is a place where everything is upside-down, where reason and logic do not apply.

Sounds familiar? Welcome to the myth of the asterisk.

Journalists, fans, players and coaches are arguing that a dark cloud is hanging over the Patriots' accomplishments, due to two controversies: "Spygate" and "Deflategate". The scandals have two things in common. First, they are centered around the New England Patriots, and second, they have been completely over-blown by the media and sports fans – often doing so without any actual knowledge of either affair (*cough* John Tomase *cough* Chris Mortensen *cough*).

Make no mistake, though, New England has pushed the boundaries of the rule book in 2007. It is doubtful, however, that "Spygate" gave them any kind of competitive advantage and it can be argued that the team simply tried to take advantage of the wording of the 2007 Game Operations Manual. Still, the league deemed the infraction worthy of a punishment – and that is all she wrote.

Thus, the Patriots and their success get scrutinized ever since. Here is a question, though: why are they the only team to get treated that way?

Why not the Denver Broncos and their salary cap infractions? Or the New Orleans Saints' "Bountygate"-scandal? Why not the Miami Dolphins' tampering charges or the Seattle Seahawks' practice violations? Why not any other team in the league? Where are their asterisks?

The first answer to those questions is as simple as it is the reason the Patriots are the number one target of cheating accusations: success. No other team in the league has been as relevant as the Patriots have been in the 21st century. Neither the Broncos, nor the Saints, nor the Seahawks – there will not be any cries for asterisks since neither team has rivaled the success the Patriots have had.

New England has won four Super Bowls in the past 14 seasons; six AFC titles, 12 division crowns. They are the gold-standard of success in the National Football League. However, success arouses envy. Therefore, if a chance to attack the most successful franchise in the NFL presents itself, people jump aboard as quickly as they can – it stirs controversy, thus creates attention, thus creates clicks.

The second answer is as follows: we live in the time of social media. Everyone has an opinion and it is relatively easy to spread said opinion via mediums like Twitter or Facebook. Those opinions do not need to be based on facts or research, they just have to be. This leads to fact and fiction often being used synonymously. CBS Boston's Michael Hurley wrote an excellent article dealing with this topic, in which he uses the methods deployed by his brethren to counter them.

As our very own Alec Shane once put it, the Patriots live so deep inside some people's heads that they care more about them than their own teams (*cough* Bob Kravitz *cough* Gregg Doyel *cough*). As long as the Patriots remain as successful as they have been in the Brady-Belichick era, people will keep criticizing them. They will keep trying to taint their accomplishments.

They will keep crying for the asterisk.

Cherish the hate, Patriots fans, since it is the ultimate verdict that you root for the most successful franchise in the league. If there ever comes a day the team fades into obscurity, so will the voices crying for its downfall.

This day, however, is not today. The Patriots are the rightful champions. As their head coach put it, they were the best team in the regular season and the best team in the postseason. They have earned their fourth Lombardi Trophy by beating the defending champions. The team and its coaching staff could have collapsed under the weight of "Deflategate" but they did not. They stood tall and won their biggest game of the season.

George1963 wrote:The Colts could lose every game for the next 14 years and they'll be bigger winners than the Patriots have been over the last 14.

And Hell will freeze over any day now too.

Looking at this graphic below you can understand the Northwest being homers and all, which is perfectly fine, and what you would normally expect. But what is it about those Indiana folks? They act so self righteous and holier than than thou when it comes to the Pats, like those media clowns Bob Kravitz and Gregg Doyel, who act like their poop don't stink, and they think they cornered the market on integrity? Please. Live in denial much? I mean, seriously, this is the state that worshiped Bobby Knight as a coach, right? LOL. The Patriots are really in their head for sure.

Now regarding the investigation, it seems that only ONE ball of the Patriots was a full 2 psi under. (The others were just "a tick" under 12.5 or right at 12.5. If anyone is not aware of this, you really need to keep up.) Guess which one was 2 psi under? Answer: The one D'Qwell (I beat the shit out of a pizza delivery guy) Jackson intercepted and turned over to GM Ryan Grigson. Hmmmmm. Lets speculate. That's what we do here, right? I'm learning from the best at how to do that and jump to conclusions based on leaked, incomplete and probably inaccurate information - those fine folks at Indianapolis media and TMZ, er, I mean ESPN. Now what if the Wells investigation reveals that Grigson tampered with that one ball and then turned it over to the league in an effort to frame the Patriots and embarrass them? I think that should be the new working theory here. Definitely seems plausible to me. Why is itthat the only ball that was 2 psi under was the one in the Colts possession? Like I said, I am learning from the bestat coming to conclusions without evidence. Hey, if others can do it, so can I. If it is true that the Colts nefariously tampered with the ball, I want draft picks from them, and I want Gigson suspended for at least a year.